Manufacture of translucent screens



,May 28,1944).v Bf M. .3Q-DDE 2,202,370

lMANUFACTURER OF TRANSLUCENT SCREENS Filed Nov. 22. 1935 QELL ULSE MA l M /5 e UND UAE-rz INVENToR. BEEN/112D M 50am:

v l BY v1.4."

' ATToRNE `Patented May '28,' 1940 f y UNVTLED.A 'P

llihis invention relates lto picture projection vscreens and manufacture thereof and-particularly to the-translucent type of screens in which pictures projected on `one side of the screen may be viewed or photographed on the opposite side. One of the difliculties encountered in the projection of pictures -upon a screen is that the picture has a much-higher value-.of rlight intensity at its center than at the edges, that is. the light source formsa'comparatively bright spot at'the center of the screen, "commonly 'called a fhot spot, which gradually tapers off f toward'v the edges of the screen. This inherent .difliculty is not so noticeable inv reilection screens as it is vin translucent screens. However,` when a composite picture is produced'by photographing a picture which is `projected upon a translucent projection screen, the projection o-f thel resulting compositer picture 4- upon a reflection vtype" screen may show a very marked apparenthot spot; y

Whether a translucent picture screen is to be employed for the photographing of composite /pictures orfor the projection of pictures to be viewed by an audiencefit is' desirable that the screen transmit as large an amount of light as possible while still retaining its translucency.

One object of the present invention is tol ob' tain good` tone qualities anda high degree of intensity of a picture transmitted by' a translucent screen. l

This-fis accomplished byproducing a transparent base insheet form and providing upon the surface of the base an arraylof minutelight refracting particles. These refracting particles are of a transparent crystalline material of high light refractiveL qualities. I" employ forthis purpose finely ground'or fractured quartz z'which willpass through at least a 4007mesh screenv and preferably through a 2000 mesh screen.` The use of a transparent base having a transparent light refracting material applied A.thereto allows for' the highest possible light intensity to be transl mitted by the screen. Thesmall size to which the quartzparticlesare ground preventsan apparent graininess from .being photographed or observed on the r screen and increases the detail or tonal qualities of a projected picture.

kAnother object of the invention is toovercome the hot spot while obtaining a degree of light transmission through the translucent screen. l.

'I'his is accomplished by so applyingvthe min-.p

v' ute light refracting particles.' tol the transparent base of the screen that there are a larger num-v ber'per'unit of arca in portions of -rthe screen where the intensity of the light projected there-k on ishigb.. 'Ihus the more intense portionsof l the light beam will be refracted a greater num- 1 ber of times than the less intenseportions r`e- 5 sulting in a transmittedA light whose intensity is substantially constant over its entire cross sectional area. l l Y Another object of the invention is to reduce the possibility ofv water vapor, dirt, etc., getting 10 into the transparent base in the course of sprayfl ing the same.' This is accomplished by arranging the matrix-- `on which the base is sprayed in` a substantially horizontal position,V the transparent cellulose. 15

material being sprayed thereon from underneath. AnyV dirt `or water vapor from the spray equip'- ment or elsewhere Awill tend to settle downward awayV fromthe surface of .the sprayed cellulose.

klurtherr'nore, positioning .the matrix so` as` to 20 allow the transparent material tobe sprayed onk the bottom side thereofallows sheetsof `any size to be produced without the necessity ofoverhead' scaffolding and ladders fromfwhich dirtv might fall onto the screen if it'were sprayed on the 25 top of the matrix.V y l A, still further object ofthe invention is to insure correct distribution of the light refracting particles over the Abase of a translucent screen to compensate for, the variationsy in in- 30 tensity throughout the cross sectional area of a light beamfprojectedion the screen. f

This is" accomplished byprojecting upon the ybase of; the screen duringt'he operation of applying upon itthe light refracting particles, a 35 beam of light-'whose intensity" variesv throughout its cross sectional area. The density of distribution'of the vlight refracting particles vis then.y varied across the surface of the screen in a'c.

cordance with the intensity ofthe light beam 40 .projected upon the lscreen sofasl to! render a the area ofthe screen.' y Y .Another 'object of the invention is `topfrepare transmittedlightof equal intensity throughout a spraying material, for forming a translucent 45 screen. ,o m

AThis is accomplished by grinding quartz into i small particles, Amixing these particles with a cellulose.materialxdissolved inra thinner to'V render it in` liquid form, and again grinding, this mixture until `the-quartz isy of extremely small Size, i. e.`preferably of 2000 to 3000 mesh. The resulting material may again be mixed with a cellulose material in liquid v,form and, sprayed upon a transparent base t form a translucent screen.

A further object of the invention is to prevent back glare or reflection of light from the surface of a translucent screen base opposite the surface which is treated with light refracting material to render the base translucent.

This is accomplished by applying to the untreated` surface of the translucent screen base a coating of stearate compound, such as zinc stearate.

For further details o-f the invention, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View showing the method of making a transparent base for a translucent screen.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through lthe matrix and the transparent screen formed thereon.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the completed translucent screen suspended within a frame.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross set-r tional view through the translucent screen.

The matrix I (Figs. 1 and 2) is formed of a fabric 2 having a base 3 thereon to present a smooth surface on the lower face thereof. Base 3 is formed of a suitable material such as an amber composition which is not compatible with the liquid employed in making the transparent base for the screen. The matrix I is secured to the bottom of a suitable frame 4 which is suspended as by wires 5 from the ceiling 6 of the spraying room l.

The transparent sheet material such as cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate, which is to be employed in producing the base for the translucent screen, is dissolved in suitable solvents, plasticizers, etc., to render it liquid and sprayable upon the matrix I. The liquid cellulose material is sprayed under pressure upon the under surface of the matrix I in the manner shown in Fig. 1 through a suitable spraying apparatus as shown at 8. This spraying operation may be carried out manually by an operator 9 standing below' the matrix I. By directing the nozzle II of the liquid conveying hose I2 throughout the entire area of matrix I the transparent base I3 (Fig. 2) may be produced. Preferably the base I3 is formed by spraying a large number of cellulose coats upon the under surface oi' the matrix I and allowing each coat to dry before the application of the next succeeding coat. The completed transparent sheet thus formed may be of any desired thickness; however, I prefer to make it from .015 to .020 thick. Also, sheet I3 is preferably of substantially the same thickness throughout its entire area or it may increase slightly in thickness towards the edges so as to increase the strength of these portions and/or make the thickness of the finished screen exactly the same throughout; however, it is to be understood that the change in thickness of the sheet I3 is not utilized to affect the intensity of the transmitted light. After the sheet or base I3 is entirely dry, it is provided with a reinforcing web or strip I4 around its edges. The sheet I3 is then stripped from the matrix I and is suspended in a frame i6 (Fig. 3) as by interlaced elastic cords Il, The light r'efracting material employed to render the sheet I3 translucent is formed of a crystalline material which is ground to an extremely ne mesh. Quartz is preferably employed because of its high light refractive qualities. However, silicon, feldspar and other similar materials may be used although they are not as efficient.

In one method of obtaining a very finely ground quartz material, pieces of crystal quartz weighing one pound or less are placed in a dry condition within a ball mill and there ground for a period of about one week, whereby the quartz is reduced to a ne powder. At the end of this time the iron and other impurities are removed from the ground quartz by a magnet, acid,

` etc. The resulting quartz powder is then mixed with a cellulose material in liquid form in the approximate proportions of 5 pounds of quartz to 11/2 gallons of cellulose material dissolved in a suitable thinner to render it liquid. This mixture is then ground between rolls or otherwise for a period of about a week to further decrease the size of the quartz particles and to thoroughly mix these particles with the liquid cellulose material. The resulting quartz particles will be suiiiciently fine to pass through a 2000 to 3000 mesh screen. This resulting mixture of cellulose and finely ground or fractured quartz is then further mixed with liquid cellulose material in the approximate proportions of 2 quarts of quartz mixture to 20 gallons of .dissolved cellulose material and is placed in a spraying apparatus similar to that shown at 8 (Fig. 1). The nal quartz and. cellulose mixture is sprayed under air pressure upon the transparent base or sheet I3 in the formof a fine mist or spray. The thickness of the quartz and cellulose coating upon the transparent base I3 is extremely small, being slightly larger than the thickness of the quartz particles. The density of distribution of the quartz particles is made greater at the center of the screen as shown at A (Fig. 3) and gradually decreases toward the edges. This is accomplished by applying more coats of the quartz and liquid cellulose mixture at the center than` at the edges. For example, in the coating of the quartz mixture upon a transparent base of about 16 ft. on each side, about 6 to 8 coats of quartz mixture may first be evenly applied over the entire area of the base, then about 4 or 5 coats may be applied over a smaller area or zone Z1, next about l0 coats may be applied over a still smaller zone Z2, next about 6 coats over a next smaller zone Z3, and finally about 6 coats over a still smaller' zone Z4. This last zone Z4 may cover an area of about 3 sq. ft. in the central portion of the screen. These coats, however, gradually blend together so as to form a single coat Whose density of quartz distribution gradually increases toward the center' of the screen. It is to be understood at this point that the thickness of the layer 20 of quartz particles remains substantially of the same thickness throughout the area of the translucent screen but that the density of distributionor the number of quartz particles perunit of area varies toward the center of the screen. By rubbing the fingers over the quartz sprayed surface after the same has dried, the surface feels rough, somewhat like emery paper, although of much finer texture. This indicates that as the solution of liquid cellulose and minute quartz particles are sprayed upon the base, the liquid cellulose material adhering to the projecting points of the quartz particles` tends to flow toward the cellulose base due to surface tension of the liquid cellulose. That is, the cellulose at the projecting points has an ainity for the cellulose base and thus tends to flow thereto. It will be seen therefore that the quartz particles become partially imbedded in the cellulose material with provjecting light refracting points iri` direct Contact with the air.

During the operation of spraying the ground quartz upon the transparent cellulose sheet I3, a suitable projector is employed to project a beam of light upon the back surface of vthe screen. The cross sectional area of this beam of light preferably Varies in intensity thereacross in the same proportions as the beam of light to be ultimately used to project pictures, etc., upon the screen. That is, the beam increases in intensity toward its center. The Afinely ground quartz is so sprayed upon the sheet I3 that the transmitted light from thevprojected beam of light passing through the sheet and the quartz layer is of substantially constant intensity over the'entire area of the screen. T'he more intense portions of the projected beam of light are retracted through a larger number of ypaths than the less intense portions to decrease the inquartz grains or particles is the same throughout the entire areaof th'escreen. In this case the hot spot maybe overcome by other means ysuch as by placing a light filter in the path of the light beam between thev projector and the Screen.

In order to prevent back glare or reflection from the rear of the sheet I3 due to the sheen or polished effect of the surface, a coating lI!) of a stearate compound such as zinc stearate may be provided thereon to produce a slightly dull surface. is mixed in a liquid cellulose solution and is applied to the untreated surface of sheet i3 by spraying it in the form of a mist or spray upon this surface. f

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new vand desired to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Method of making a translucent picture projection screen which comprises spraying multiple coats of cellulose ester onto a matrix to form a homogeneous transparent sheet, stripping said sheet from said matrix, and rendering one surface of said sheet translucent subsequently to forming said homogeneous transparent sheet.

2. Method according to claim l whichcom- Also, if desired, the quartz may be uni- Preferably the stearate compound prises rendering said sheet translucent by spraying onto one surface thereof a rough surface layer comprising' cellulose ester.

3. Method according to claim 1 `which, comprises rendering said sheet translucent by spraying onto one surface thereof ,a rough surface layer comprising cellulose ester, and graduating the roughness of saidrough surface in a series of rectangular increments proportional to the dimensions'of said sheet With the roughness decreasing from the center of said sheet toward the edges.

4. Method of making a ytranslucent picture projection screen which comprises spraying a coating ofcellulose ester material on a smooth matrix to form a transparent homogeneous partial body portion having a smooth surface, spraying multiple coats of celluloseester material substantially free from diffusing ingredient on said partial body portion to build up a transparent homogeneous .body of sufficient strength to withstand stretching flat, stripping said body portion from said matrix, supporting said body portion Vertical inA light receptive relation to a motion picture projector, and spraying a liquid comprising cellulose ester onone surface of said body to render the different portions of ysaiol body translucent to a diferent degree depending on the intensityl of the light from said projector.

5. Method of making a translucent picture projection screen which comprises spraying multiple coats of rcellulose ester onto a matrix to form a homogeneous transparentA sheet, stripping said sheet from said matrix and rendering said sheet translucent by spraying a plurality of coats of coating material 'comprising a solution of cellulose ester onto eachfof a seriesof` centralized overlappingareasof one surface of the sheet to form a rough surface layer comprising an array q of light-refracting particles, the density of distribution `of which decreases from the, centre of the screen towards the edges thereof to correspondingly Vary the refraction of a beam of light to form a homogeneous transparent sheet, stripping said sheet from said matrix and rendering said sheet translucent and light intensityfequilf izing byspraying a surface of graduated roughness on one side of said sheet said roughnessincreasing in a series of steps from the edge to the center of said screen to substantially equilize theintensity of a hot spot beam of` light from a motion picture projector.

BERNARD NLBODDEQ 

